How will be the new airport of Tulum, one of the star works of Andrés Manuel López Obrador

Works on the land designated for the construction of the Tulum airport, on October 12. Elizabeth Ruiz (Cuartoscuro)

Tulum, a paradise city in the Mexican Caribbean, will have its own airport. That was the announcement that the Government of Mexico made three years ago. The work will be part of the collection of megaprojects of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. Next to the Mayan Train, it is expected that the new aerodrome will be inaugurated before the end of the six-year term. The Ministry of National Defense (Sedena), which has assumed the responsibility of carrying out a good part of the obradorista mandates, has already presented progress in the development that includes 1,200 hectares of land in the municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, site on the outskirts of the tourist town.

With an investment of 3,200 million pesos, "it will have the capacity to serve 5.5 million passengers and up to 32,000 annual operations," estimated Brigadier General and engineer Gustavo Ricardo Vallejo Suárez, in charge of the construction of the Airport. After Cancun, it would be the second busiest air terminal in the peninsular area. The project has also been planned as a military base that seeks to "strengthen the security of national airspace, assist the civilian population in case of disasters and attend forest fires," added Vallejo Suárez.

Model of Tulum.SEDENA airport

This white sand city has the largest underground river in the world and the second longest barrier reef. Tulum has become one of the points of greatest population growth in recent times. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), 20 years ago, less than 7,000 people lived there. Today there are about 47,000 inhabitants. The creation of the new airfield will try to relieve the flow and concentration of travelers arriving on the runways of Cancun, a town located just over 120 kilometers from Tulum.

The State of Quintana Roo has accelerated this and other works with the interest of continuing to promote tourism and attract foreign investment. Among the developments that are being built in real time are the work of enabling viaducts where the Mayan Train would travel and progress is being made by leaps and bounds in the construction of the bridge in the Nichupté Lagoon in Cancun. According to SEDENA estimates, 75% of arrivals at the airport complex will be of foreign origin, and operations would start in 2024, shortly before the end of the six-year term.

Features of the new Tulum airport

The Tulum airport, for its "infrastructure and operational potential", would be classified within category 4 ECO, according to General Vallejo Suárez. It will have a runway of 3,700 meters in length and a category one instrument landing system and high-tech navigation, according to engineer Vallejo Suárez.

The complex will have 13 positions for commercial aircraft for domestic and international flights. In addition, a position for general aviation and another for executive aviation are added. The airfield will have an exit to Federal Highway 307 and a transfer connection with the Mayan Train. The development is also expected to include the creation of a small airport city that integrates a commercial and service corridor of more than 10 kilometers in length.

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